The board and staff of Dos Pueblos have been following the crisis that exploded in Nicaragua in April closely. We're deeply concerned by the events of the past few months, and condemn the violence being perpetrated against innocent civilians and non-violent protesters. We stand with other members of the international community requesting an end to the violence, and a national dialogue to determine the future of Nicaragua.

The good news is that all of our Dos Pueblos friends and colleagues are managing as well as they can, doing their best to negotiate this difficult time.

The bad news is that the civil unrest and resulting repression and violence have affected the Dos Pueblos community in various ways.

Four members of the ArcoIris youth group in Tipitapa could not travel to New York this summer, despite the efforts of Dos Pueblos donors to bring them here. The US Embassy stopped issuing visas for almost all Nicaraguans. This was a great disappointment for all of us.

Due to the crisis, many businesses have closed, and many workers have lost their jobs. Some of the ArcoIris youth group are very concerned about how they will feed their families in the coming months. The Dos Pueblos Board has started making plans about how to distribute money for food in the case of food shortages.

Some ArcoIris youth have been able to continue with their college work with online classes, but the large public universities have been closed since April 16. So the students attending those institutions have not attended classes for many months now.

As of now there hasn't been a sustained and open dialogue with the government and various opposition groups. We hope that these groups will agree to meet and set a course for their country. In the meantime, we can do what we've always done: support our friends and partners, listen to them and give help however we can.